Dead Alive

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Dead Alive

R,

1993,

1h 41m,

Horror/

Comedy

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Watchlist

88%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver), is accidentally bitten by the fearsome Sumatran rat-monkey. When the bite turns his beloved mother into a zombie, Lionel tries to keep her locked safely in the basement, but her repeated escapes turn most of the neighbors into the walking dead, who then crash a high-society party thrown by Lionel's boorish Uncle Les (Ian Watkin).

Critics Consensus

The delightfully gonzo tale of a lovestruck teen and his zombified mother, Dead Alive is extremely gory and exceedingly good fun, thanks to Peter Jackson's affection for the tastelessly sublime.

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

Oct 5, 2019

[O]nce Lionel stops trying to cover up the zombie threat and starts fighting it, Dead Alive becomes a delirious showcase for molds, squibs, and other old-fashioned horror effects.

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Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Times

Oct 19, 2016

After you see it, you want to race out of the theater and recommend it to your sickest friends right away.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Oct 19, 2016

Ordinarily I don't care for this kind of thing at all, but something must be said for Jackson's endless reserves of giddy energy, which are clearly meant to be silly.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 27, 2024

3/4

A film so excessively gory that it makes the Pacino version of Scarface look like a vintage episode of Reading Rainbow by comparison.

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Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

Oct 26, 2022

Dead Alive has killer effects and eccentric hilarity, and it thrives through Jackson's passion. This is a must-see for any horror-comedy fan.

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Apr 6, 2022

4/5

Made with extraordinary, obvious joy by a filmmaking team besotted with the idea of making a movie.

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Rey W

Nov 30, 2018

Classic gorefest. Peter Jackson's roots before he went off and made blockbusters.

George S

Nov 25, 2018

One of the best movies of all time.

Hagrid S

Aug 3, 2018

EXCELLENT Movie. A must watch Comedy Horror!

Rey L

Apr 1, 2018

If this movie was made in America, the MPAA would have the entire movie cut. Although, New Zealand makes some of the best "splatsticK" movies like Black Sheep and this movie is probably the goriest movie next to The Evil Dead series altogether. What surprises me about this movie is well, everything! One thing is the director of this movie (Peter Jackson) was soon to be one of the most respected filmmakers of all time. The acting is brilliant, the character of Lionel (Timothy Balme) reminds me of the character of Norman Bates from Psycho, a character with Mother issues just without the personality disorders and the intentional killings. The gore in this movie is absolutely mind blowing, it's disgusting, bloody, repulsive and ironically hilarious. This is the kind of movie to be seen to be believed. Check it out.

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Leia L

Jan 16, 2018

This film is absolutely bonkers and is all the better for it. There are some truly stomach churning moments but so much of this film is a delight, an hilarious delight too! (When i watched it it was called Braindead, which is a better name) Jackson throws everything and the kitchen sink into this gorefest that will be loved by horror fans. An often tasteless and often hilarious Zombie horror/comedy.

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Draco P

Dec 2, 2017

If you wanted to see family dilemmas, tasteless gore, and crazy characters in one tale, BrainDead (or "Dead Alive" if you live in the states) is the right place...or state of mind. From scene one to the climactic fight with a horde of zombies, you see the ambition Peter Jackson was willing to put on screen. It's over-the-top antics often make every moment rubbery like a cartoon, only we're snapped back into reality when flesh or limbs are ripped apart. It is that type of movie that succeeds by dumping those buckets of blood onto the waxy floor for the laughs.

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Peter Jackson

Director

Timothy Balme

Lionel

Diana Peñalver

Paquita

Elizabeth Moody

Mum

Ian Watkin

Uncle Les

Brenda Kendall

Nurse McTavish

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Synopsis

Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver), is accidentally bitten by the fearsome Sumatran rat-monkey. When the bite turns his beloved mother into a zombie, Lionel tries to keep her locked safely in the basement, but her repeated escapes turn most of the neighbors into the walking dead, who then crash a high-society party thrown by Lionel's boorish Uncle Les (Ian Watkin).

Director: Peter Jackson
Producer: Jim Booth
Screenwriter: Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Production Co: Avalon/NFU, WingNut Films, NN Film P, New Zealand Film Commission
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 1993, Original
Release Date (DVD): Sep 8, 1998
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.5K
Runtime: 1h 41m

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